Here’s to 2013;

To running a half marathon when I previously believed I’d never get beyond 1 mile, being more intentional about my relationships, more time with family, watching Anton and Ellie grow, another year and more good times with Steve, pushing beyond my fitness boundaries, getting closer to finishing law school, finding opportunities to help others, continuing to honor Daisy, having fun, and being more positive.

picture source and where I purchased it from

I bought this a couple weeks ago and just started using it this week.
I was a complete skeptic, but it was only $15 and I was desperate for a way to make protein shakes in the morning without having to go through the many hassles of using a blender, since I’m always running out the door at the last second in the morning.

I didn’t think it would fully mix the protein or anything else I put in there. But, wait for it…. It does.

So my chocolate peanut butter protein shake was born.

Ingredients:
16 ounces chocolate almond milk
a scoop of peanut butter
a little less than 1 scoop of protein powder (I use Perfect Fit protein by Tone it Up)
Ground flaxseed- I just pour in however much looks to be enough

Probably not the healthiest with the chocolate almond milk and peanut butter but it’s delicious, and I’m getting my protein in plus the omega-3′s from the ground flaxseed.
And it tastes like you’re drinking Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. For breakfast.

]]> http://wildandwondrous.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/chocolate-peanut-butter-protein-shake/feed/ 1 jenmarch pinkgood1_1024x1024 http://wildandwondrous.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/weekend-3/ http://wildandwondrous.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/weekend-3/#comments Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:29:07 +0000 Jen http://wildandwondrous.wordpress.com/?p=593 ]]>

Date night with Steve on Friday night <3
He surprised me by having his sister waiting in the park to take pictures of us in my favorite place.

Then we had an amazing dinner at Ristorante Saraceno in the North End, followed by a stop at Mike’s Pastry to get all of the above… cannoli, eclair, pistachio cookies and green & pink Italian cookies.

But this was the most special part of the night…

I bought that ornament in honor of Daisy as part of the Animal Rescue League of Boston’s Pet Holiday Tree. I missed the tree lighting and was afraid I wouldn’t get to see the tree but Steve and I picked my sister up from her class and he drove us to go see it. I circled the tree looking for her ornament and finding it was one of the most special feelings I’ve ever had. Getting to see her up there will definitely be my favorite part of this Christmas season. I miss her so much and this made me feel like a part of her was still here through the holiday. So so special.

Saturday I got to make a gingerbread house with Anton and Ellie and then take them out to dinner. It was so much fun.

linking up:

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Steve and I on Thanksgiving <3/ Homemade cranberry sauce and turkey pops/football rice krispie treats/roses sent from Steve for our 6 month anniversary/Post-5k Pictures (Reindeer Run) with Rachel and Tania/Amanda’s peanut-butter peppermint kiss cookies/Registered for my first half-marathon in May!

Ingredients

2 medium-ripe bananas
1 Cup of Oats
1 Scoop protein powder

(I also sometimes add a tablespoon of pumpkin puree to make them pumpkin-flavored! They’re versatile so you could really add anything you want to)

Directions

Mash up your bananas with a fork really well. Once mashed, add your scoop of protein powder and mix all together. Then, mix in the oats.

Coat a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and drop the dough onto the pan with a spoon. For me this mixture usually makes about 7 cookies.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes (I have done 20 minutes every time)/until golden brown.

That’s it! A “cookie” with protein, fruit, and oats!

Prompt: Appreciate those in service.
My sister and I baked some really good cookies for someone I used to work with. When I saw this prompt I immediately thought of him. He finished a really long tour in Afghanistan recently and just got back from NY after the hurricane, and is one of the most genuine, wonderful people I know. His wife and children are so strong too. We gave him a card with the cookies and I was able to bring them to his house and spend some time with him and his family.

Prompt: Handwritten Note/ Treat Someone

I combined these two. When I was in the market I saw one of Steve’s favorite kind of cupcakes so I picked it up for him and wrote him a note to go with it.

The printables for the project

Treat Someone:

Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection week is coming up, so on the “treat someone” theme my sister and I went shopping for things to fill our shoeboxes with for children who would not get any Christmas gifts otherwise. This is always one of my favorite parts of the holiday season.

The two prompts I didn’t get to are giftcard for the homeless and blessing bags for the homeless. I still intend on doing these since there is a large homeless population around my office and school, and it’s especially upsetting now that it’s getting so cold out.

I also plan to carry this theme of brightening someone’s day beyond the week of this project. I think it’s a great way to live and you can learn so much from it.

In the morning my sister and I took Olympia to the Sweet Paws Rescue “Paws Around the Pond” benefit event. It was so fun to see all of the SPR “alumni,” after knowing all their stories and seeing how happy they are now. And we got to play with some of the dogs who are still waiting to find their homes.
Olympia was nervous but she did better than I expected and she had a good time getting to meet so many other dogs. A lot of people recognized her since she was one of the bigger stories on Sweet Paws because of what had happened to her.

photos from Sweet Paws Rescue facebook page and Brooke Whicher Photography

Then in the evening we had the Harvest Dinner at my church where I spoke about the Awake & Alive trip to Ethiopia.
This was really the first time I’d talked about it since I’ve gotten back, since I’ve been out straight since then and there is so much processing that I feel needs to go into it.
But we played videos and I talked for about 20-25 minutes about some of my favorite stories from the trip, as well as the need there. I talked about how amongst that need there is still so much joy. It was hard seeing the photos and talking about the trip because it reminded me how much I miss all of the children and how hard that last day was when I had to leave them.

It didn’t disappoint and I had a lot of fun. My night was full of climbing, crawling, swinging, finger-painting, playing in a fake hair salon, getting onto a TV screen with cartoon Arthur, and so much more.

hair salon.. drawing up how my hair is going to look

… and then how my hair actually turned out. #dontquityourdayjob

Here we are flying a fake airplane… actually we never got it to take off but we tried!

we were very serious about our child-skill-level activities

hanging out in a tunnel

Me with Arthur on the big TV screen. The little girl in me celebrated a little.

slam dunkin’

yepp. too much fun. the night was finished with frozen yogurt with fruity pebbles and a nice long walk around the city.